Sandusky asks Pa. high court to take his case

Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, center, is taken from the Centre County Courthouse after being sentenced in Bellefonte, Pa., on Oct. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

HARRISBURG — Jerry Sandusky is asking Pennsylvania’s highest court to take up his appeal of child sex abuse conviction, saying a judge should have instructed jurors regarding the length of time it took victims to come forward.

Sandusky’s petition released Friday calls the case a test of whether fair trials can be held “even in the worst of cases.”

The former Penn State assistant football coach was convicted last year of 45 counts of child sexual abuse. He is serving a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence.

The new filing also repeats other arguments that were recently rejected by the mid-level Superior Court, including a claim that Sandusky’s lawyers lacked sufficient time to prepare and that a prosecutor improperly referred to Sandusky’s decision not to testify.